Skype wants to go public

Skype wants to raise US$100 million through an initial public offering (IPO) in the US, as the Luxembourg-based provider of Internet telephony, video calling and instant messaging communications seeks to diversify and boost its user base and revenue.

In a filing with the USSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Skype said it wanted investment to pursue a strategy to grow both its base of free users and paid subscribers, increase its marketing and advertising revenue and expand its services for businesses. Skype told SEC that it makes most of its dosh from fees its charges for its SkypeOut service. It wants to see this grow.

As of June 30, Skype had a monthly average of 124 million free users and 8.1 million paying users, up from 91 million free users and 6.6 million paying users respectively in the second quarter of 2009. In addition to Internet telephony, video calling and IM, Skype also offers SMS, screen sharing and file transfer services.